


You can erase memories but not love

by Ficauthor



Category: The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius
Genre: Bisexual Carl wheezer, Bisexual Character, Carl/ OMC (mentioned), Established Relationship, F/M, I miss this show so much, Jimmy has autism, Libby (mentioned) - Freeform, Pre-Relationship, Sheen (mentioned), Sheen/Libby (mentioned), Trans Male Character, Yeah the title is sappy what of it, a smart idiot but an idiot none the less, adult jimmy goes by james, again i have head cannons you cannot look at me and tell me carl isnt bi, cindy knows jimmy very well, cindy still calls him names but its more afectionate than in the bad time line, dont ask me why it just feels more grown up, he comments on men being attractive as often as women, he totally likes her and has since the movie but hes an idiot, i have head cannons and I'm gonna share them dang it, i just think that they'd still tease each other as adults, i rewatched it all in less than a week and im mad there is no season 4, it does him good, its 2020 and cringe culture is dead, its 2020 and i'm embracing my love of sap, its got time travel babeeeey, jimmy doesnt get emotions, jimmy goes to the future cause hes in denial about simping for cindy, jimmy goes to therapy as an adult, jimmy is a trans man, one day it might be a thing, yes i am writing jimothy nerdtron fanfiction in the year of our lord 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:27:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25206202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ficauthor/pseuds/Ficauthor
Summary: Jimmy had to check, just one time, to be certain was all. just the once to make sure that the timeline was fixed, and then he'd go one with his life. he wouldn't think about him and Cindy getting married in the bad timeline. He just had to make sure everything was on track.
Relationships: Hugh Neutron/Judy Neutron, Jimmy Neutron/Cindy Vortex
Comments: 8
Kudos: 15





	You can erase memories but not love

**Author's Note:**

> I miss them all so much, after seeing some fan art I rewatched the whole show and its still stands up... okay maybe not the animation. but everything else is good. I hope that we do get a season 4. There is a change dot org petition to get it continued if that interests you. anyways enjoy my self-indulgent trash. and also yes jimmy is trans and autistic, and no one can change my mind.

He just needed to...He just needed to check, just to be sure he actually fixed the timeline. It'd been a while since Libby's party. He kept putting it off, reasoning that the Robocop had disappeared with the gift. But that wasn't what he really wanted to check. But every time he went down there with the intention of turning the arch on his stomach churned.  
Would he still be stupid? Would he still be married to Cindy? The thought crammed his fast-beating heart right up his throat and if he didn't know any better he'd think it'd grown arms and was clawing its way out.  
But it was time.   
He couldn't just, not know. Without checking, his future self was constantly in the state of being married and not being married. And to Cindy? He wasn't sure how he felt, or how he was supposed to feel about that. His trip to a deserted island with Vortex had not helped either.   
He fiddled with his watch as the arch thrummed to life... his modifications to make it more stable seemed to help. It'd taken some damage when the cop bot went through. He supposed it was the paradoxical nature of it, it was changing the timeline by going back thus scrambling things. Though he could not be certain.   
This time however he wasn't going to change anything. He was going to pop in at his own lab, check Vox's records, and then head home with his mini collapsible chrono-arch double. He was only taking himself this time so it should have enough energy to do the job.   
Goddard barked circling around him  
"No boy!" Jimny called him down.  
He whimpered looking down.  
"Awh I'm sorry boy," he kneeled down scratching his chin," but its better this way fewer variables. You understand... don't cha Goddard?"  
He let out an excited yip wagging his tail before rushing over to his lab bed and curling up on it.He turned back to the Chrono-arch with any luck his adult counterpart shouldn't even know he's there.   
Easy in, easy out.

"Aw, our little boy moving out!" His mom cried out her voice filled with emotion.  
His parents were in their 50s now both with streaks of grey, his fathers had taken root at the temples while his mothers swirled down from the center of her hairline. And they both were in surprisingly good shape for their ages. Though James supposed that a little over a decade of running from his experiments and nemesis will keep one in shape.  
"Mom," James whined out," I moved out four years ago I'm just finalizing my lab movement."  
His mother and father were smiling but they seemed to be sad too.   
He couldn't be certain though. His autism diagnosis had helped him immensely but the little handbook they gave him of facial expressions wasn't very helpful.  
"And I'm not a kid anymore I'm 26 and-"  
His father put an arm around his shoulder effectively silencing him," we know Jimbo but you'll always be our little boy!"  
James smiled leaning ever so slightly into his father's embrace," well I'm not gonna be far our new apartment is only 40 minutes out and the new lab 45 I'll text you the location I swear."  
His mother smiled," I know honey and we're both very happy for you both, its a big deal that you're both living together now but it won't be the same."  
"And of course, we'll miss Goddard!" His father exclaimed bending down and petting the slightly rusted but still well-maintained dog.  
A smile cracked on James' face," I actually got you guys something!" He rummaged through his satchel  
"Awh Jimmy!"  
"Now son housewarming gifts normally go the other way around."  
"I know, think of this as a 'thanks for putting up with me putting you guys in mortal peril for so long' gift."  
He pulled out a space compressor box and fiddled with the buttons until the gift popped out. Gasps came from his parents.  
"They're a cat and duck bot, they have some of Goddards tamer features but if either of you ever gets in trouble they can defend you in a pinch."  
"Oh, Jimmy!" His mother exclaimed tears welling up in her eyes. "I haven't named them," he said rubbing the back of his neck suddenly uncomfortable with their gazes. "I thought you'd both want to do that." His parents collected him in a hug.  
When they finally separated from their embrace his father was quick to speak," Need any help with your equipment."  
Flashes of his father trying to help him but inevitably causing some sort of mess played before his eyes.   
"Thanks, dad but Sheen and Carl already helped me with the really heavy stuff a few weeks ago. Goddard and I should be able to handle this on our own. Its mostly collecting the last remnants of Vox's hard drive and a few odd projects. Besides Cindy should be here soon, she gets off work in a bit."  
His mother placed a kiss on his forehead she had to lean up and James crouched down to help but the sentiment was there regardless.   
"Just call us if you need anything."  
"I will mom!"  
The house hadn't changed much since his youth.  
The pictures of the family were updated and the wallpaper replaced, but most of the original furniture was still there. It was honestly jarring for James. The change was good, he knew that his parents knew that, hell even his therapist knew that but it was still hard to deal with.   
He sighed," you ready to get the last of it all Goddard?" He asked.  
The canine barked his tail wiring as he wiggled excitedly.  
"Then let's take a trip down memory lane," he said scanning his hair for the last time.

Stepping through the pink and purple light was once again a jarring swirling mess. His vision swam and stars flew past his eyes but after a vigorous head shake it was cleared.  
"Alright, Vo- He stumbled looking around in shock.  
The Lab was very empty the lack of projects making his voice echo around. His Chrono-Arch was gone, the cloning machine... well that one was probably good. His hovercar, rocket, alien space car. Everything. All that was really left were a few... well he was pretty sure they were computers but they looked nothing like the bulky ones he retrofitted at home. They were sleeker, thinner, with nicer screens and a cleaner color pallet.  
Huh, he might have to consider making his own computers thin like these. He grabbed one, and to his surprise, the keyboard came with. It was genius really it allowed for a more compact and portable design.   
"Vox?" He asked.   
Something whirred to life. It was some bigger monitors right behind him.   
"Analysing voice pattern. Please state name and age."  
"Jimmy Neutron age 12 and a half."  
More noise went off as the system compared notes.  
"Match to James Issac Newton Age 12 from the year 2005. Confirm please?"  
Jimmy wasn't too sure what to say to that," uh?"  
"Analysing," Vox's smooth voice reverbed," analyzation inconclusive. Intruder, Intruder, Intruder."   
The entire lab was screaming with Vox's synthesized voice.  
"AUgh ah!" Jimmy cowered covering his ears," No no no no, Vox it's me! its Jimmy!"  
he motioned his hands up and down trying to get it to register that it was too loud but it continued on. its voice echoing in the near-empty lab.

He was halfway down the stairs to his lab, when Vox started to go off.   
"That can't be good!" he exclaimed glancing at his dog before hurrying down the stairs.   
"Goddard warm-up your stun ray, we don't know whos in there."   
At the foot of the stairs was his hand scanner still clearly dormant. Shoulders tense and raised he put his hand on the scanner causing it to light up. The scanner would stay on for another hour, meaning that someone had gotten in either long ago, or without having to go through his precautions.   
Unsheathing his own stun gun from his pants he opened the door to the lab and crept in.   
His eyes bounced around frantically searching for the intruder. His mind instantly going to all his different foes from when he was younger. He'd defeated them. They all had. But there was still that lingering thread of fear. It made him jumpy sometimes, gave him nightmares. His therapist said it was trauma.  
Finally, his gaze lowered a bit and he was met with.  
"You! you're!"  
"Intruder, intruder, intruder! engaging Attack mode in 5. 4-"  
"Vox disengage."  
"Affirmative James Neutron. Attack mode Disengaged. Goddard you too boy."  
With a whirr and bark, he powered down his stun gun before turning to Jimmy cocking his head to the side.   
His younger self looked up at him his hand rubbing the back of his neck," Uh hi..." he waved lifting his free hand up slowly.  
James examined him looking for injuries or some sort of explanation on his person for his arrival. He was still wearing the big baggy t-shirts James saw. He also hadn't reached his growth spurt yet either. His hair was still half his height. He looked like he was about ten or eleven. Which made sense that was when he developed the Chrono-Arch. But he didn't remember this visit as a kid. He desperately racked his brain but it was foggy and indistinct almost as if something was keeping the memory from him.  
"What's this?" he asked pointing to the table.  
James looked," That? oh, that's my laptop. I guess those weren't really common when I was young huh..."  
Recognition flitted on Jimmy's face," A laptop? but the ones commercially available are so bulky!"  
"Yeah, well," James said," innovation does that."  
Jimmy nodded," where is everything?"  
"Well, I'm moving out."  
Jimmy nodded seeming to take that information in as he reexamined the now empty lab. A beat of silence filled the room as neither James nor Jimmy spoke up.   
"So, Jimmy," he said eventually chewing out the syllables. "What brings you to my time? Any disaster that you need advice on or something?" he didn't know what to do with his hands. He never did but there was something about seeing himself, as a kid at his most insecure that made him doubly unsure.  
"No, I'm just here to, uh double-check the timeline, I have to ensure that it wasn't ruined by the tampering." he smiled, but there was something off about it. He must be rattled from the time travel if he remembered correctly traveling to the bad timeline had been jarring to the senses.   
"Well," he said racking his brain," Libby is not in power enslaving Retroville to do her bidding and listen to all her music. In fact, she's a singer/musician now. She's very popular."  
"Really?" Jimmy asked," she'll be glad to know that, she's still a little mad at Carl Sheen and me for the whole party thing."  
James chuckled," yeah she still brings up time to time when we all get together."  
"Oh, we're still friends with her?" Jimmy asked seeming genuinely caught off guard.  
"Well yeah," James said," why wouldn't we?"  
Jimmy shuffled his feet," Libby and Cindy just always seem so annoyed with me, I just kind of assumed they stuck around because Libby was seeing Sheen."  
James nodded," No we're all still friends, Me, Carl, Sheen, Libby, and Cindy. In fact Ci-"  
"Are Carl and Sheen still doing what they're supposed to?" Jimmy interrupted, almost too eagerly.  
James looked at him confused," uh I guess, it's been a while so I don't remember the predictions fully but Carl is Breeding Llamas, and Sheen is a successful male model. He also stars in Libby's music videos sometimes. She refuses to let him sing."  
Jimmy nodded," Makes sense, his singing is so bad that the school chorus rejected someone for the first time in fifty years."  
James smiled," well he hasn't improved with time I'll tell you that. It's not even an acquired taste situation. he just croaks out the most out of tune lyrics and we all have to put in earplugs till he tires out.  
Jimmy chucked. The smile didn't stay long, however," and me- you?"  
"Well I'm moving to the city, just received a couple of Nobel prizes," Jimmy's smiles returned in full.  
"I knew it!" Jimmy exclaimed jumping up excitedly," my genius was finally recognized by the scientific community, now she'll have to recognize I'm smarter because that contract didn't mean anything to her she sti-"  
"Wow," James laughed," Cind was right, I really did have a pride issue."  
"Cind? Do you mean Cindy? Vortex?" the bashful look returned to his face as he looked down and shuffled his feet," You and her arent, she and I? I mean you aren't?"  
James furrowed his brow examining his younger self. "aren't?"  
"Well you know," he ducked his head," mar-"  
The sliding door opened," James," a voice called out softly," you almost done? we have to get home- is that?"  
"Cindy?!" Jimmy called out, looking panicked.  
Cindy gave James an exasperated look," what did you do Neutron?" she asked almost fondly," did you test another time machine? After what happened last time?"  
James sputtered," me? I didn't do anything. it was him!"  
Cindy gave him a look," I thought you were supposed to be a genius? he is you!"  
James quickly quipped back in return. This was their element comfortable bickering back and forth. Trading light insults and criticisms in one breath and then calm and soft words in the next  
"How did you get in here!" Jimmy called out interrupting their banter," I erased your memory of how to get into my lab!"  
Cindy gave him an incredulous look," you mean to tell me that you wouldn't tell your girlfriend how to get into your lab?"  
Jimmy gagged," Girlfriend?"   
Cindy turned to James," thanks I'm really feeling the love."  
"I'm not the one saying anything," he gestured wildly.  
Cindy pinched the bridge of her nose," need I repeat myself again. He is you."  
"I don't even reme-" he stopped his Hypno-ray catching his eye," oh." he hit his own head," that's why I don't remember, older me, or me now erased my memory of this even happening!"  
"No!" jimmy exclaimed panicked," I have to fix the timeline!"  
"There's nothing to fix, I'm happy."  
The responding scoff surprised James," well I'm not! I don't even like Cindy!"  
Cindy rolled her eyes," has the island incident happened yet?"  
his blush told them all they needed to know.  
"See you do like her," James smiled gently gazing at Cindy.  
"N-no I don't thats just a residual effect of love potion 976/J!" he was clenching his fists now as if he were going to fight them.  
Cindy turned to James with a shrug," I'm not dealing with the exhaustion that comes from dealing with an eleven-year-old you, I'll just take some stuff to the hovercar meet me when you're done."  
James nodded. "we'll talk later I promise," gently grabbed her hand. She smiled nodding, and with a kiss on the cheek, she left the lab.

"So here's the thing, the love potion didn't really work like how we thought."  
"Huh?"James chuckled," you can't make people fall in love. it was an infatuation potion. It just mimics a lot of the physiological responses that come with attraction, eventually, it wears off."  
"But Carl still likes mom!"  
James winced," yeah that one was embarrassing, he did eventually get over it though. He's even seeing someone now."  
"Really Carl got a girlfriend?"  
James shook his head, Nah a boyfriend, after high school, he realized he was bisexual."  
"Oh..."  
They were quiet again for a while the both of them looking around the lab examining what was left, and the stains left on the floor from what was taken.  
"Er, how long..."  
"What?"  
"Till the love potion wears off?"  
"A week, if that. we already liked her. Do you remember the first Yolkian attack?"  
Jimmy nodded slowly still worry.  
"Well, that was the start of it. If I'm honest, when she came to comfort me and over time that grew."  
"But I hate her!" Jimmy insisted but he didn't sound as sure as he had before.  
James shrugged," it sometimes felt like that, but that's just cause I'm bad at handling my emotions. Trust me this stuff gets a lot clearer with a therapist and when you're no longer constantly in denial about hating your own body."  
"I-I do-"  
"I'm gonna stop you there little-me. We were jealous of Cindy. Not because she was a girl but because she found comfort in it like we couldn't. But eventually, I stopped being jealous of her for that. And there were other things I didn't like sure. The fact that she always told me I was wrong. Even though I definitely needed the ego check. And her constantly making fun of me for my height and head. But once she learned she stopped."  
"You told her?!"  
A deep pained sigh racked through James' body," of course I did. I eventually told all of them. The whole class ended up learning eventually," he winced at the memory of that experiment gone wrong," but everyone was fine with it. Even butch knew not to touch that with a ten-foot pole... Cindy would have murdered him."  
"Okay," he said eventually, slowly he clearly didn't believe the words James was saying.   
"How did you stop being jealous?'  
James blinked, he honestly had not expected that question.  
" I don't really know I can't exactly remember. I just woke up one day and wa- oh."  
"Oh?"  
"I'm pretty sure I just Hypno-rayed my jealousy away when I-you- augh whichever. when I was Hypno-rayed to forget this I think I also did a two for one and got rid of my jealousy."  
Jimmy looked down," so I really don't get a say in this? I don't get a chance to change it?"  
James sighed," do you really want to? Wouldn't this information affect how you act around her? Your friendship? Do you want to lose that?"

"Hey, Jimmy!" Carl was at the entrance of the lab waving at the camera," they just got a new baby llama at the petting zoo!"  
Jimmy blinked clearing his eyes, he was hunched over a project in the corner. was it really that late already he asked himself looking at the clock. he didn't really remember a good chunk of the day. "I guess time flies when you're inventing," he muttered. "Vox let Carl in."  
Carl screamed as he fell down to the chute into the lab," jeez Jimmy can't you have an elevator, I feel like my scapula's gonna pop!"  
"You were saying about the llamas?"  
"Oh!" Carl was smiling wide now," yeah they got a new one, it's small and spotted-"  
Jimmy had already turned to his worktable the words of his friend being tuned out.  
"That's nice carl."  
"And Sheen is going with Libby and Libby is dragging Cindy over-"  
"Uh-huh - wait Cindy's going to be there?" JImmy asked trying to sound like he wasn't interested.  
"Yeah," Carl dismissively waved his hand," and the baby llama has a Cat friend that was abandoned in the llama pin. And the llama mother took the kitten in to now they're friends," Carl's voice was pitched high and soft like it always did when he talked about llamas.   
But Jimmy wasn't thinking about the llamas.  
"Well I guess, I do need a break from inventing..."  
"Yay!" Carl did a tiny hop," Come one let's go everyone is meeting up at the Candy Bar!"  
"Okay," he said with a smile as he removed his goggles and gloves.

"Did it all work out okay?" Cindy asked her boyfriend.  
"Yeah," James said with a smile putting down the heavy box in the back of the hovercar.  
He put a gentle kiss on her cheek.   
Cindy giggled," so I take it since the world isn't warping around us that you erased his memory?"  
"You already know the answer to that Vortex."  
She smiled," Yeah but what was it he was saying? that he doesn't like young me?" she batted her eyes dramatically."  
James crawled into the seat next to her," oh can it, you know I was a mess then, besides you weren't any better!"  
She blushed," that's not the point nerdtron."  
"Oh it's not?" he asked a smirk playing on his lips," cause I remember a certain someone wanting to abandon her life and live on a deserted island with me forever?"  
"You promised to never bring that up again!"  
James laughed punching in the codes to his hovercar," you're the one that brought it up first."  
"Did not!"  
"Did too in the lab!"  
As Cindy sputtered and argued back with fire in her eyes and a broad smile on her face James felt content. It took them a long time to get where they were. but in the end, it was worth it. he leaned in and kissed her gently effectively shutting her up while he started take off.  
"What was that for?" she asked as they started home.  
"Nothing," he shrugged," I just love you."


End file.
